Stories for June 2018

Brazil’s central bank kept interest rates unchanged on Wednesday, as expected, refraining from hiking even after a sharp currency slide as policymakers highlighted the unclear impact of a nationwide protest by truckers in late May.

The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved on Wednesday a three-year Stand-By Arrangement (SBA) for Argentina amounting to US$50 billion (equivalent to SDR 35.379 billion, or about 1,110 percent of Argentina’s quota in the IMF).

United Kingdom should remain in the customs union after Brexit unless there is a proper alternative, the boss of Siemens UK has said. Jürgen Maier, chief executive of the German firm's UK operations, told Reuters contingency planning for Brexit was very difficult as we don't know... what we are planning for.

Theresa May has welcomed the passing of the Brexit bill through Parliament as a crucial step in delivering a smooth and orderly Brexit. Peers accepted the amendment to the EU (Withdrawal) Bill sent to them from the House of Commons, meaning the bill now goes for Royal Assent, becoming law.

Index provider MSCI said on Wednesday it will reclassify Argentina as an emerging market and begin including Saudi Arabia in that classification, sharply broadening the investor base for both countries in a move that could be supportive of their equity markets. The decisions will be effective beginning in mid-2019.

Algerian authorities shot down the internet access for two hours on Wednesday, coinciding with the start of high school diploma exams, the first in a series of internet blackouts to stop students cheating, AFP journalists in Algiers reports.

Kim Jong Un declared North Korea's unstinting “friendship, unity and cooperation” with Beijing during his third visit to China this year, in a show of loyalty to his main ally following a landmark summit with US President Donald Trump.

Three people were shot dead in the city of Masaya as security forces and para military groups tried to regain control of the area, a human rights group reported on Tuesday, the two-month anniversary of political unrest that has shaken Nicaragua.

Ecuador's highest court has ordered former President Rafael Correa included in an investigation into a 2012 botched kidnapping of an opposition lawmaker. The judge in charge of the case gave Correa a month to clear his name.

The Cuban government opened on Monday the 3rd Edition of International Convention and Exhibition of Cuban Industry (CubaIndustria 2018), seeking to attract foreign investors to revitalize the country's economy.